“Let me show you.”
“No, Rory.”
I dropped the hand I was lifting to touch her and backed away as if slapped.
She threw her gaze to the sky. “Jesus, don’t look like a puppy I just kicked. Come on. We have somewhere to be.”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight into my side and walking back towards the car.
Lacey glanced up at me. “Do you remember our first trip to visit my parents?”
“Too right. I was packing it. I reckoned they wouldn’t think I was good enough for their little girl.”
“But do you remember in the car? We spoke about our feelings for the first time?”
I thought back. That was the first time Lacey told me she loved me, and it had given me the confidence to reciprocate. I had known I was head over heels for months before that, but I’d always been too chicken to say it. Nevertheless, my girl’s bravery had helped me say what I felt.
“I do.”
“You seem to be the braver one this time around, Rory.”
I tightened my grip on her shoulders and pulled her closer. “It’s not a competition. I hurt you.”
“And you keep stopping me whenever I get close to getting you off in my mouth. I just wanted to show you.”
“That’s why you won’t let me reciprocate this time? You think if it’s an altruistic gesture it shows me how you feel?”
“I guess.”
I sighed and wrapped my other arm around her, holding her against me and drawing us to a stop while enjoying the coolness of the rain on my cheeks. “Lacey, baby, you never need to prove anything to me. Don’t get me wrong, that was fucking hot and I totally appreciate it. But I can wait for you to tell me how you feel.”
She nodded against me.
“By the way, the next time we spend a night apart, I’ll be wanking to the memory of your hooded head bobbing up and down my dick. Who knew an anorak was sexier than see-through underwear? You’ve given me a new fetish.”
She giggled, and I let go of her with one arm and urged her to start walking before my cock got any more ideas.
Once back in the car, she rested her head on the seat and looked at me. “Does it make me a skank that I gave you a blow job in the woods?”
“No. It makes you a great girlfriend. Now let me get you off and then we can be on our merry way.”
“Here?”
“No one’s going to see us do more than kissing if I’ve got my hand down your jeans.”
She bit her lip, but she was smiling. “Okay then.”
Chapter 22
Lacey
“THIS IS YOUR HOME, Lacey. You should stay here with us,” Mum said again.
“Have you changed your mind? Is Rory welcome to stay ... in my room?”
Mum looked away and stared at the blank wall, gritting her teeth. “No. This is my house and my rules.”
“Which is why I won’t be staying if my boyfriend is not welcome.”
“Fine. Be like that.” She stared at me, her nostrils flaring. “Don’t come crying to us when it all ends in tears again.”
“You’re so sure it will. You never have faith in my choices,” I spat back. “I’ll always be a four-year-old who can’t make her own decisions.”
I knew I sounded like a brat, but I didn’t care. She was the one being disrespectful; I had chosen Rory, and it was none of her business who I spent my life with.
Spend my life with? Was that really the way I was thinking?
I did love him—even if I couldn’t say it out loud yet.
I hurried into the living room to check on Rory. He was with Dad, Jonas, and Simon, so I wasn’t too worried.
“Remember Dad used to check your tyres when you got your first car. Every time,” Jonas said, chuckling, as he looked at Rory.
“Would rather slash them now,” my dad muttered. “I mean an Audi. Could you find a more pretentious car?”
“Really?” I interjected. “Is this how you treat my guest? Snide comments.”
Dad looked up and shrugged.
Rory rose to his feet. He placed his hands on my hips and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’m going to shoot off. Jonas will walk you back to the wigwam. It will give you time with your parents.”
“No, Rory. They can be grown-ups. I’ve never seen them so impolite.” I shot a look of daggers at my father. I was disappointed in my parents; it made me feel sick.
He led me out into the hall and kept his voice low so no one could overhear. “Stay a while. I don’t want to be seen as the one driving a wedge between you and your parents. If I go and you come with me, then I’m taking their daughter away from them. Stay for me. You can always plead my case if you want to.”
He pressed a hard kiss to my lips. I could tell he wanted more—he was frustrated, and he liked fucking the frustration away—but I stepped back and nodded.
“One hour,” I promised him.
“Take all the time you need.”
I stood at the open door as he left the house, bending down to press a kiss to my lips when he passed. He set off along the road, his shoulders slumped and his head down. Finding a stone, he kicked it along the road in front of him.
Somehow, I needed to make things right, I just didn’t know how.
I closed the door and walked back into my parents’ living room to find a cup of coffee steaming in front of an empty seat. My mum had joined the men.
“The truth is, Lacey, your dad and I think you’re making a terrible mistake taking back up with Rory. He’s unreliable.” Mum leaned forward and picked up a shortbread stick and pointed it in my direction. “It’s not his fault. The poor boy had such a bad upbringing. It’s bound to have an impact on his adult relationships.”
“His childhood has nothing to do with it. It makes him a damned good teacher. I’ve been to his school. The kids love and respect him.”
“That might be fine in a professional capacity, but not in a personal one,” my dad said.
I looked to Jonas who shrugged. “I like the guy, and it’s your life.”
“What do you know, Jonas?” snapped Mum. “Simon’s the first person you’ve brought home.”
“True. Maybe I knew I had to be certain given how hurt you were at Lacey and Rory’s break up.”
“And are you sure, son?” Dad asked.
“Sure enough to get married.”
“You’re engaged?” I squealed.
Jonas gazed at Simon, and a big smile broke over his features. “We are.”
I edged out from my seat, being careful of the coffee, and threw my arms around my wee brother. “Congratulations. Can’t believe you’re tying the knot before me.”
“The big clod got himself lost for a while, but I think Rory is getting his shit together. Don’t let others tell you who you should be with,” he said into my ear, but it was loud enough for my parents to hear.
I squeezed my brother a bit harder, then turned to Simon. He was a tall guy with platinum blond hair and pale blue eyes. He was handsome and had a bit of Viking about him. I could understand what Jonas saw in him.
“Do you mind a hug from your soon-to-be sister-in-law?” I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable, since he’d met me half an hour ago and been immersed into family drama immediately.